LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 08: Singer Bobby Caldwell arrives at the 2013 BET Soul Train Awards at the Orleans Arena on November 8, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo: C Flanigan/WireImage)
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Bobby Caldwell, a multi-genre singer-songwriter, died Tuesday, his wife Mary said. He is 71 years old.
The official cause of death has not been released; his wife said he died of fluoroquinolone poisoning after an antibiotic prescribed in 2017 wreaked havoc on his body.
“He was prescribed a runny nose and a cough that shouldn’t have happened, but it did, and if you’re traumatized like he was, it’s irreversible,” she said. “It’s just going to wreak havoc.”
this Food and Drug Administration issued a warning in 2016 Regarding the use of fluoroquinolones in the treatment of “less serious” bacterial infections because of the disabling side effects associated with them. Warning labels were also updated in 2013 to include the drug’s potential for irreversible nerve damage.
Consumers are likely most familiar with Cipro, a branded variant of the quinolone antibiotic.
Influenced by artists such as Nat King Cole and The Beatles, Caldwell aspired to a music career at age 17 and went on to write and sing hits such as “What You Won’t Do for Love” and “My Flame.” His parents are also singers and have hosted music variety shows. according to his biography on his website.
Caldwell’s ability to dabble in a variety of genres, including jazz and R&B, has endowed his work with longevity. The Boyz II Men sampled his song “What You Won’t Do for Love” for their song “To the Limit” in 1997, nearly 20 years after the hit was first released.
Rapper Biggie Smalls also sampled Caldwell in the 1990s, using “My Flame” on his hit “Sky’s the Limit,” which was later used in a biopic about Smalls’ life and career middle.
Caldwell lives in New Jersey and is survived by a wife and daughter.